GUANS, CURASSOWS, AND CHACHALACAS   -   CRACIDAE

Gray-headed Chachalaca Ortalis cinereiceps Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica. They are as common as chickens here!

Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens aequatorialis Hotel Villa Lapis, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.

Cauca Guan Penelope perspicax La Suiza, Risaralda department, Colombia. Once thought to be on the brink of extinction, this big guan has made a hug comeback in this area, where a group of municapal and private reserves protect over 500 hectares of cloudforest.

White-winged Guan Penelope albipennis Quebrada Limon, Lambayeque department, Peru. The white in the wing is usually only visible in flight. A critically endangered species, though it has been making a comeback thanks to a captive breeding and reintroduction program.

Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura bronzina Hotel do Ypê, Itatiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The ones around the hotel are bordering on tame, since they put food out for them every day. This bird was so close that I had to settle for a head shot!

White-crested Guan Penelope pileata Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Very few photos exist (that were taken in the wild) of this rare and local species. It inhabits remote areas of the eastern Amazon.

Black-fronted Piping-Guan Pipile jacutinga Carlos Botelho SP, São Paulo state, Brazil. Awful photo, I know, but it's such a rare and endangered species that I included it anyway. It was once quite widespread, but now can be found in only few parks and reserves in the southern Atlantic Forest.

Razor-billed Curassow Mitu tuberosum Manu Wildlife Center, Madre de Dios department, Peru. It was going to roost, and we had to spotlight it in order to photograph it.

Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. Male. Another critically endangered species, and one of the rarest birds I've ever photographed. Thanks to a new reserve established by ProAves Colombia, this species now has a spark of hope.

Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. Another shot of the same bird that shows the shape of the bill better.

Bare-faced Curassow Crax fasciolata fasciolata Pousada Piuval (Pantanal lodge), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Male. Probably the easiest of all the curassows to see. In much of the Pantanal they are no longer hunted, thanks to the growth of ecotourism, and at many lodges they have become rather common.

Bare-faced Curassow Crax fasciolata Pousada Piuval (Pantanal lodge), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Female. The mate of the bird in the previous photo

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